Bending device



April 1966 J. R. WILLIAMS ETAL 3,246,503

BENDING DEVICE Original Filed March 28, 1960 INVENTORS. JACK R. WILLIAMS BYCLARENCE L. FLESSATE AffoRNEYS United States Patent 3,246,503 BENDING DEVICE Jack R. Williams, Painesville, Ohio, and Clarence L. Flessate, Waukesha, Wis., assignors to Applied Power Industries, Inc., a corporation of Wisconsin Original application Mar. 28, 1960, Ser. No. 17,882, now Patent No. 3,124,192, dated Mar. 10, 1964. Divided and this application Dec. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 333,162 3 Claims. (Cl. 72-414) The present invention relates generally to improvements in the art of bending elongated metal bar or plate stock, and relates more particularly to improvements in the construction and operation of portable power actu- Iegted bending devices adapted to bend fiat bars, such as bus ars.

This application is a division of our copending United States application, Serial No; 17,882, filed March 28, 1960, now Patent No. 3,124,192, issued March 10, 1964.

A primary object of this invention is to provide improvements in bending apparatus of the type generally shown and described in US. Patent No. 2,255,985, dated September 16, 1941, to E. M. Pfauser, which enables such devices to be used in bending plate stock.

As shown in Patent No. 2,255,985, it has heretofore been proposed to provide portable assemblages for bending pipe or tubing comprising, in general, a pair of spaced triangular plates secured at a common apex to the end of a power cylinder andhaving reaction blocks pivotally mounted therebetween near the other apices thereof, and an arcuate shoe attachable to the power ram or plunger for movement therewith intermediate the plates and between the reaction blocks to bend the pipe or tube upon application of pressure to the ram.

While such prior bending devices have enjoyed widespread acceptance and have proven highly sucessful and efficient in operation, their use has thus far been limited to bending operations on elongated cylindrical stock such as pipe or tubing. Moreover, the type of bends heretofore performed with,such apparatus has been restricted to arcuate formations as distinguished from sharp angular bends.

In working with plate or flat bar stock such as bus bars, it is frequently desired to effect sharp angular bends in a direction across the width or thickness of the bar, herein referred to as flat bends, and it is also often desired to bend the flat bar stock in the direction of the depth of the bar, herein referred to as edge bends.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a portable bending assemblage which is readily adapted for use on flat bar stock of different dimensions and by means of which either flat or edge bends may be effected.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bending device which may be quickly and easily converted either for use in forming flat bends or for the formation of edge bends on fiat bar or plate stock.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved portable bender by means of which diverse arcuate as well as sharp angular bends may be imparted to flat bar stock without lateral distortion of the stock.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide a novel conversion kit for commercially available pipe or tube benders which permits such benders to be used for effecting flat bends on bar stock.

These and other specific objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the features constituting the present improvements, and of the construction and operation of a typical bending assemblage for operating on bar stock and embodying the invention, may be had by referring to the drawings acompanying and forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a part sectional plan view of a typical fluid pressure actuated bending device embodying the ,iIlVCIl-f FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bending shoe for performing flat bends;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bending die used.

in the flat bending operations.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as applied to a fluid pressure actuated portable bending assemblage of the type generally disclosed in US.

Patent No, 2,255,985 and as being particularly useful in operating on bus bar stock, it is not intended to thereby unnecessarily restrict the application or use ofthe im-- provements; and it is furthermore contemplated that specific descriptive terms employed herein shall be given the broadest possible interpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawings, the portable bending device shown therein comprises, in general, a power ram having a fluid pressure actuated plunger 10 movable within a' cylinder 11; a frame formed by a pair of parallel rigid side plates 12, 13 each having its mid-portion detachably but firmly secured to the open end of the cylinder 11 and also having therein 'at' least two series of axially alined holes 14, 15 respectively diverging away from the cylinder end' along each side thereof; a work receiving bending shoe or die 52 which will be hereinafter described in detail detachably secured to the extreme outer end of the plunger 10 for movement thereby between the spaced plates 12, 13 and intermediate the oppositely diverging sets or series of holes 14, 15; and a cooperating reaction" block or die 46 secured to the plates 12, 13 on opposite sides of the plunger 10 for cooperation with the plunger and the die 52 to elfect bending of a piece of elongated bar stock 18 positioned between the dies.

The mid-portion or apex of at least one of the triangular plates 12, 13 may be detachably secured to the open end of the plunger guiding cylinder 11 as by means of a removable spacing and clamping bracket 20, and the ram assemblage may be of any well known type operable as by fluid pressure supplied from a suitable pump (not shown) through a flexible conduit 21. The die 52 may be detachably secured to the end of the plunger 10 in any suitable manner as by means of a traverse pin 22 cooperable with an annular recess 23 formed on the plunger, and the assemblage may thus be conveniently assembled and dismantled for placement and removal of the work pieces 18 and for interchanging the shoes or dies 52.

Except for the dies 52, 46, the general assemblage thus described is well known as shown in US. Patent No. 2,255,985, and such apparatus has enjoyed considerable success. However, the utility thereof has heretofore been undesirably restricted to bending operations on pipe or tubing, and by reason of the present invention, this type of portable bending apparatus may now be readily adapted for bending flat bar stock.

The die 46 is formed by a pair of similar spaced side plates 47, 48 shown as being of generally V-shaped connected at their apex or outer medial portion by a forming or bending block 49 of the desired angular crosssection. The wings of the die side plates 47, 48 are provided with holes 50 alinable with selected ones of the sets of holes 14, 15 in the bender frame so as to re movably receive suitable attachment pins 51 or the Patented' Apr. 19, 1966 an angular working face 54 matching that of the die block When it is desired to form a fiat bend on the bar stock 18, the bending shoe 52 is applied to the plunger 10 in an obvious manner and'the die 46 is secured to the side plates 12, .13 of the bender frame by means of the pins 51. With the plunger 10 backed up or retracted as in FIG. 1, the work to be bent is positioned against the die block 49, and pressure is thereafter applied by the ram plunger 10 to form the desired flat bend as shown in FIG. 2,' the plunger being thereafter retracted to its initial position to remove the work.

From the foregoing detailed description, it is apparent that a bending assemblage has been provided for working on flat bar stock which is extremely simple and economical in construction and which is moreover highly efiicient in the performance of flat angular bends. The side plate.13 of the main bender frame may be readily removed for access to the bending shoe 52, which may be readily removed for quick and easy replacement. Whenever it is desired to perform fiat bending operations as shown, it is only necessary to apply the shoe 52 and to secure the die 46 in position for the performance of the bending operation as hereinabove described.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of operation of the bending apparatus herein shown and described, since various modifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope "of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

We claim:

1. A bar stock bending accessory for use in a bending machine embodying a power actuator having a force applying member movable along a given path and at least one rigid plate secured to said power actuator and extending transversely across the path of movement of the force applying member, said accessory comprising, a bending shoe removably attachable to said force applying mem ber for movement therewith, said shoe having an angular forwardly presented work-engaging face, and a V-shaped reaction member having its diverging legs removably attachable to said rigid plate at equally spaced points on opposite sides of the path of movement of said force applying member, said reaction member having a fixed work-receiving reaction block at its apex formed with a working face corresponding to the bending face of said shoe and disposed in the path of movement thereof.

2. A bar stock bending accessory for use in a bending machine embodying a power actuator having a force applying member movable along a given path and at least one rigid plate secured to said power actuator and extending transversely across the path of movement of the force applying member, said accessory comprising, a bending shoe removably attachable to said force applying member for movement therewith, said shoe having an angular forwardly presented work-engaging face, and a reaction member formed of a pair of laterally spaced plates removably attachable to said rigid plate at equally spaced points on opposite sides of the path of movement of said force applying member, said reaction member having a fixed work-receiving reaction block secured between said plates and formed with a working face corresponding to the bending face of said shoe and disposed in the path of movement thereof.

3. A bar stock bending accessory according to claim 2, wherein the laterally spaced plates are both V-shaped and are attachable at the free ends of their diverging legs to the plate of the bending machine with the reaction block being secured therebetween at their apices.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,712,799 5/1929 Jones lS321 2,382,266 8/1945 Simonsen l5338 2,867,261 l/1959 Tranpmann 153--38 2,910,108 10/1959 Pike 1532l 3,073,372 1/1963 Lang 15338 RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner. R. D. GREFE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BAR STOCK BENDING ACCESSORY FOR USE IN A BENDING MACHINE EMBODYING A POWER ACTUATOR HAVING A FORCE APPLYING MEMBER MOVABLE ALONG A GIVEN PATH AND AT LEAST ONE RIGID PLATE SECURED TO SAID POWER ACTUATOR AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FORCE APPLYING MEMBER, SAID ACCESSORY COMPRISING, A BENDING SHOE REMOVABLY ATTACHABLE TO SAID FORCE APPLYING MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH, SAID SHOE HAVING AN ANGULAR FORWARDLY PRESENTED WORK-ENGAGING FACE, AND A V-SHAPED REACTION MEMBER HAVING ITS DIVERGING LEGS REMOVABLY ATTACHABLE TO SAID RIGID PLATE AT EQUALLY SPACED POINTS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID FORCE APPLYING MEMBER, SAID REACTION MEMBER HAVING A FIXED WORK-RECEIVING REACTION BLOCK AT ITS APEX FORMED WITH A WORKING FACE CORRESPONDING TO THE BENDING FACE OF SAID SHOE AND DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT THEREOF. 